Remakes: A Discussion

[Thundarr]

With Hollywood seemingly doing nothing but remakes lately, I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread to exchange ideas and express our opinions about them. Do you like them? Do you dislike them? Are you on the fence? Why? Why not? What are you favorite remakes? Which remakes do you hate? How come?

Personally, as a general rule, I hate remakes with a passion. More often than not, they are an absolute mess with little or any of the original's charm or magic or whatever made the original popular. If a remake does get made, it should be done by someone who understands and respects the original and what it was trying to say/do. Some remakes I would like to point out as examples . . .

John Carpenter's The Thing
Likes: Everything. This movie is everything a remake should be. It took the original story of "The Thing From Outer Space", maintained enough of the story to allow people to be able to identify with it, yet made enough changes to make the story fresh and new.
Dislikes: None

Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers
Likes: Everything. Again, this is a remake done the way a remake is supposed to be. That end scene, where the girl runs up to Donald Sutherland and says "Thank God you're alright", and he points at her and screams. That gets me every time. And is a much more ominous ending than the original's.
Dislikes: None

Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Likes: The level of suspense and scare factors were pretty good. The action was pretty intense. And I liked how the whole town was made up of members of that psychotic, inbred family.
Dislike: They completely neglected the whole "cannibalism" aspect of the story. It was subtly hinted at, with jars in the kitchen filled with human body parts. But there was no indecation that they were preserves for future meals, or simply trophies from past kills. Had they added a scene where they were chopping up Jessica Biel's boyfriend's leg and tossing the bits into a stew pot while discussing what a great stew this fresh meat will make, that would have made this a great remake. As it is, it's only okay at best.

A Nightmare On Elm Street
Likes: I thought Jacky Earl Haley (did I get his name right) did a great job playing Freddy Krueger, both before and after the burning. I didn't mind the new make up job, other than it limited JEH's acting ability somewhat. The nightmare scenes were sufficiently creepy. I even jumped at a few parts, which is a refreshing experience while watching a horror movie. Lately they're so formulaic that they're almost boring.
Dislikes: The should NEVER have changed Freddy's backstory. Originally, he was a child killer who had murdered at least 20 kids in the neighborhood of Elm Street (that they know of). His victims included the older siblings of Nancy, Tina, Rob, and the other main characters. He was caught during an illegal search & seizure. Because the warrant was executed improperly, he had to be released. The parents decided they weren't going to let him hurt any more kids, so they burned him alive. In the remake, he was just a creepy pedo and when the parents found out he was molesting their kids they didn't even wait for the cops and the courts. They just burned him alive while he was screaming "What do you think I did? I didn't do anything!" The original story is much better and should never, EVER have been changed.

Rob Zombie's Halloween
Likes: The scene where Michael Myers kills Linda and her boyfriend, Bob, was really well done. It took the original scene, updated it for a new, younger audience, yet maintained the spirit of the original.
Dislikes: Absolutely EVERYTHING else was absolute CRAP.

So tell me, what are your opinions?

 

[Soapy]

I can't really make a blanket statement such as, "I love remakes!" or "I hate remakes!". Like anything else, I have to take them on a case by case basis. Though I will say this: I find people who automatically hate remakes to be far more annoying than the remakes themselves. Especially when they don't pay attention to who's been cast, who's directing, etc. The actual quality of the movie doesn't factor into their opinion act all, the fact the it's a remake means it's going to suck, period.

As for most remakes not being very good, as far as I'm concerned, that's true of damn near everything. 90% of everything ****ing sucks, but the remaining 10% is what makes it worthwhile.

 

[Angel_Faerie]

I mainly dislike remakes, but if the original had a good idea that wasn't quite implemented well or could have been done better I can accept it.

 

[Laderlappen]

Unless you can improve a movie, remakes are pointless. But sometimes there are these remakes that get better than the originals and Im totally for that. Like The Departed, The Thing, or The Dark Knight.

 

[Infinity9999x]

Unless you can improve a movie, remakes are pointless. But sometimes there are these remakes that get better than the originals and Im totally for that. Like The Departed, The Thing, or The Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight wasn't a remake, it's simply a new adaptation of an existing comic book character.

That is one thing to keep in mind, when it comes to films based on existing literature, it's not always a remake. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory for example. That was not a remake of the older film, it was a new adaptation of the book.

In regards to remakes, many of them seem pointless. Especially when they're more or less the exact same film, sometimes with a silly gimmick thrown in. And they're usually not as well made. But then you get some that can truly shine, like Ocean's Eleven.

There actually are quite a few films out there I wouldn't mind seeing remade, because they were films that had great ideas, but the film faltered in execution. Jumper and The Brothers Grimm being an example. Very interesting premises, but the overall films were lackluster. Get a more imaginative director and better scripts with those concepts, and you could have some very good films.

 

[Ultimatehero]

Films that honestly NEED to be remade:

Gone with the wind
Casablanca
The Wizard of Oz
Citizen Kane
It's A Wonderful Life
Blade Runner!

... wtf if you thought I was serious.

 

[Beanjuice]

Personally, even though the unoriginality sucks, I really like remakes. I enjoy seeing things done differently, or take a new direction.

 

[Ultra Lantern]

I'd like to see a remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

 

[flickchick85]

Personally, even though the unoriginality sucks, I really like remakes. I enjoy seeing things done differently, or take a new direction.

I agree. Plus, I recently put my foot in my mouth over a recent remake (Let Me In), originally saying it was ludicrous that they'd even dare to remake a masterpiece that was only 2 years old...and then I ultimately preferred the remake. So now, even if I think a remake of a certain film is just preposterous to even consider, I still take the "wait and see" stance. You just never know when someone talented is gonna come along and make you see a story in a whole new light.

 

[Jochimus]

That is one thing to keep in mind, when it comes to films based on existing literature, it's not always a remake. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory for example. That was not a remake of the older film, it was a new adaptation of the book.

The same could be said for "The Thing", frankly - Carpenter's film was more of an attempt at filming "Who Goes There?" than Hawks' version was (which to be honest in 1950-51 would have been impossible to do effectively anyway, so IMO it was just as well that Hawks and Nyby made the deviations that they did - I know these days folks like to rag on the Hawks film and praise Carpenter's to the rafters, but I personally find both movies of equal merit). Granted, Carpenter and Bill Lancaster still took about as many creative liberties as Hawks did, but again, I think the changes that were made worked to the favor of the movie.

 

[Dave McFly]

I'd like to see a remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

you know what, I would to but make it more like the books with stuff like the 'idiot lights' telling the driver what do do on the dash etc.

 

[Laderlappen]

The Dark Knight wasn't a remake, it's simply a new adaptation of an existing comic book character.

That is one thing to keep in mind, when it comes to films based on existing literature, it's not always a remake. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory for example. That was not a remake of the older film, it was a new adaptation of the book.

Personally I dont think this makes a difference. Unless you can make it better, it should not be remade.

 

[Crockett]

There's not much to say on what I think of regarding the subject. Lately I've been trying to keep an open eye on remakes despite that there's just some movies which I don't see the point of remaking it, nevertheless I won't judge until I've seen the final product myself.

 

[Soapy]

I think They Live desperately needs to be remade. A lot of stuff in that movie is ****ing atrocious, but the plot is just so cool, and probably more relevant now than in 88.

 

[Kurosawa]

For the most part, I think remakes are better if they are of older films. There's several old movies that could be really great with a modern update. Remaking something like Total Recall seems absurd to me, but remaking Mad Love or the Most Dangerous Game sounds like a good idea.

 

[flickchick85]

I think They Live desperately needs to be remade. A lot of stuff in that movie is ****ing atrocious, but the plot is just so cool, and probably more relevant now than in 88.

Apparently Hollywood agrees.

 

[Homer J. Fong]

I do tend to roll my eyes and feel a little disgusted when I read of the latest movie on the remake assembly line, and I'll probably continue to do so. That's because most of the movies being remade aren't ones that need to be modernized and most of the people being hired to helm them aren't artists that seem to feel any particular need to bring anything new to them. There are too many great remakes littered through film history, though - to throw out a few of the most obvious, His Girl Friday, The Magnificent Seven, Nosferatu the Vampyre, The Thing, and The Departed - to flat-out say that a remake is always a bad idea. Plus, why should there be the double standard between art forms? If Hamlet or Nine or The Phantom of the Opera can eternally be up for revival, if "Respect" or "Stand by Me" or "Hallelujah" can be covered by artist after artist, why can't Invasion of the Body Snatchers or Total Recall or RoboCop be retooled by new artists in a new era? The problem is, that kind of rethinking all too rarely happens - but you can't blame the good movies for the bad ones.

 

[HR-PUFF&STUFF]

A Nightmare On Elm Street
Likes: I thought Jacky Earl Haley (did I get his name right) did a great job playing Freddy Krueger, both before and after the burning. I didn't mind the new make up job, other than it limited JEH's acting ability somewhat. The nightmare scenes were sufficiently creepy. I even jumped at a few parts, which is a refreshing experience while watching a horror movie. Lately they're so formulaic that they're almost boring.
Dislikes: The should NEVER have changed Freddy's backstory. Originally, he was a child killer who had murdered at least 20 kids in the neighborhood of Elm Street (that they know of). His victims included the older siblings of Nancy, Tina, Rob, and the other main characters. He was caught during an illegal search & seizure. Because the warrant was executed improperly, he had to be released. The parents decided they weren't going to let him hurt any more kids, so they burned him alive. In the remake, he was just a creepy pedo and when the parents found out he was molesting their kids they didn't even wait for the cops and the courts. They just burned him alive while he was screaming "What do you think I did? I didn't do anything!" The original story is much better and should never, EVER have been changed.

him being a pedophile works better right now there is a story there that works because it taps into real life and the things we see in the news all the time. and him going after the kids he had molested is a far better story then just getting a hire body count. the ending with Nancy going back to the daycare and finding the hidden room and seeing the pictures that he took of her, now that was a chilling moment. i think you have it wrong here on this one.

 

[Clu]

I say remake movies where the story was awesome, but the execution was terrible. Sometimes there are movies that have a good plot, but acted poorly or directed poorly and it just falls flat.

 

[hammerhedd11]

I personally have no problem with remakes. It doesn't ruin the original, or take it away from you magically so I don't see the problem.
I definitely don't see why you can't remake a good movie either. Sure, it's pointless it's a shot for shot remake like Psycho, but I think there can be lots of cool different interpretations of every story.

 

[superhero]

i like the remake of the time mahcine i higly reocmmed it it stars guy price i higly reocmdit.thegraphcisare realy good.

 

[Thundarr]

him being a pedophile works better right now there is a story there that works because it taps into real life and the things we see in the news all the time. and him going after the kids he had molested is a far better story then just getting a hire body count. the ending with Nancy going back to the daycare and finding the hidden room and seeing the pictures that he took of her, now that was a chilling moment. i think you have it wrong here on this one.

It was always implied that Freddy was a pedo as well as a homicidal maniac. I think it would have been more effective if they came right out and said he was both. And there's still that stupid "was he really guilty" bit that I didn't like. It could have been redone in a new and interesting way that doesn't simultaniously crap all over the original.

 

[elgaz]

I don't mind a remake now and again. But at one stage, it seemed like there was one coming out every week - and that just stinks of a total lack of creativity in Hollywood.

And the sad fact is, the majority of remakes usually tend to miss the sweet spot that the original hit. I can only think of 1 or 2 remakes that I would consider better (or at least on a par with) the original.

 

[Thundarr]

Unless you can improve a movie, remakes are pointless. But sometimes there are these remakes that get better than the originals and Im totally for that. Like The Departed, The Thing, or The Dark Knight.

I agree. Rob Zombie's Halloween is a complete waste of time, money, and effort. John Carpenter's original is superior in every measurable sense, thus I will never purchase nor rent a copy of the remake ever again. The same could be said for the remake of Black Christmas.

The remakes of The Blob, Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers (1978), and The Thing were all fabulously done and worth watching over and over, without taking anything away from the originals.

The remake of Psycho was okay, but rather pointless. It was a scene for scene recreation of the original. And while the actors all did an adequate job in their given roles, you might as well just watch the original.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

Films that honestly NEED to be remade:

Gone with the wind
Casablanca
The Wizard of Oz
Citizen Kane
It's A Wonderful Life
Blade Runner!

... wtf if you thought I was serious.

eh, I think Blade Runner could actually be improved, it's very good, but man, it is not the greatest script in the world, you could get a lot more indepth with the relationship between Deckard and Rachel, improve the action, and of course, most importantly...have a flying car chase! haha, that was actually one of the gripes that a lot of folk who hated the film said on the testcards back in the day, i don't think they got it.
But aye, it could be better, they could pepper it with some humour as well, like the original book, the humour in the film is not too good, Harrison Ford acting like the geeky peep hole finder was not as funny as it was meant to be, lol, probably his worst comedic bit.
They could get a very different film out of that book, which could be equally good, or even better.
edit: I do think the screenplay is very good in parts, but i'd like to see a film version where it was totally cracked open and had the characters really acting the way real people would in that situation, really anguishing over their sense of identity, going a little crazy with it, instead of it being the slow, ponderous meditative piece that we got.

I think the Wizard of Oz could be weirder and improved in that manner(but, y'know, not Tim Burton 'weird', more David Lynch weird) .